Talk:Wright brothers patent war

Important Article needed much cleanup; still does.
The Wright patent war (some call it the "Wright-Curtiss patent war"), according to legal historians and aviation historians, alike, is one of THE most important events in the history of both fields in the U.S. -- and the wider world, as well -- and the most important battle of its kind in the history of aviation.

So thorough major-source documention isn't THAT hard to find.

This article had a LOT of minor, and some not-so-minor, factual errors, and a near-total reliance on a few references (and, for many statements, apparently none).

Further, the article's original text seemed to rather casually make (or copy) broad assertions with little referencing or factual support. Have tried to trim those, or fit appropriate ref cites.

I encourage others to do the same where "citation needed" flags appear -- but don't just "slash and burn": research the facts, from a representative sampling of major, credible sources, and reference them, please.

Important topics deserve careful coverage, right?
 * ~ Zxtxtxz (talk) 12:45, 5 December 2017 (UTC)


 * Agreed. While mentioned towards the end of this article, the accomplishments of John J. Montgomery, the involvement of his discoveries with Wright developments via Octave Chanute and subsequent legal battles between Montgomery's family and Orville Wright are an epic story in themselves.  Yes, this is an important and massively complex chapter in American history.  Suggest  reading Fogel and Harwood's  "Quest for Flight" for a deeper delve. HvyLiftr (talk) 12:01, 27 April 2023 (UTC)

Not all aircraft are airplanes.
Not all "air craft " are "air planes ".

The term "aircraft" includes airplanes, gliders, helicopters, autogyros, balloons, blimps and dirigibles, powered parachutes and unpowered parachutes, and other craft, too.

This article topic applies almost exclusively to airplanes and gliders -- and not even to all airplanes and gliders (thousands have been built without roll-control ("lateral control"), as noted and documented in the article).

Yet the word "aircraft" is used recklessly throughout this article, when, in many cases, the only correct term is "airplane" or "airplanes and gliders."

This very sloppy use of aircraft nomenclature is a chronic problem in aviation articles in Wikipedia -- and consequently promotes falsehoods, and false impressions, throughout Wikipedia articles and audiences.


 * ~ Zxtxtxz (talk) 12:55, 5 December 2017 (UTC)

Dead link
The Buckeye Institute link is dead, most recent archive is: https://web.archive.org/web/20071112084635/http://www.buckeyeinstitute.org/article/197 2600:1700:5050:25C0:A0C0:F5F3:4B6E:993C (talk) 21:18, 15 November 2020 (UTC)